Today's Tweets

16:07 New Flickr upload: Avenue of Giants Marathon Start: Gregoriopolis posted a photo: Starting l.. tinyurl.com/c8yjxy #

16:07 New Flickr upload: Avenue of Giants Marathon 1st Turnaround: Gregoriopolis posted a photo: 1.. tinyurl.com/dzca3h #

17:07 New Flickr upload: Avenue of Giants Marathon 2nd Turnaround: Gregoriopolis posted a photo: 2.. tinyurl.com/ddr3nq #

17:07 New Flickr upload: Avenue of Giants Marathon 13-mile point: Gregoriopolis posted a photo: Th.. tinyurl.com/cjdjes #

21:12 Made it home, safe and sound, from Humboldt. There was a huge 3-car accident on the way back though, one looked like it was in a car crusher #

22:09 RT @DougBenson: The weird bald guy at the end of FRINGE was in the audience on IDOL! - wheeeeeee! #

22:35 What does Marley & Me have to do with losing weight? #

23:06 New post on my blog: A Look At The Ave: Today was my 8th wedding anniversary! My wife was gr.. tinyurl.com/c2vvsy #

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A Look At The Ave

Today was my 8th wedding anniversary! My wife was gracious enough to endulge me and make our road trip a drive on The Ave marathon route.

Let me tell you, I've driven those roads, even walked large portions of it, but have never noticed how hilly it was before. That was scary! Scary but manageable. As I drove the route, I was thinking of my strategy for success. It's obvious what I'll do (take it easy on the way up, and be careful not to run too fast on the way down), but it's something I'll have to keep in mind the entire way.

The first half of the route is also an extremely poorly maintained road. Lots and lots of cracks, bumps, and potholes. It's also a lot less wide than I remember it to be, and on top of that, it'll be split in half due to the turnaround at 6.5 miles.


The road may not be maintained well, but the route is marked well. I think I mentioned this before, but they actually have two separate versions of this marathon. The one I'm running is called the Avenue of Giants Marathon (The Ave for short), while the other one in October is called the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon. The one I'm running goes over the poorly maintained road first, while the other one takes the other direction first. Both marathons are marked with spraypainted lines throughout the entire route. Every mile is marked, every turnaround. What I found strange though is the finish isn't marked.

Starting Line


1st Turnaround (6.5 miles, HR stands for Humboldt Redwoods)


2nd Turnaround (19.6 miles)


For some reason, I couldn't find the finish line. It's either not marked, or it's in a spot I wasn't expecting. At the Visitor's Center I picked up an official pamphlet for The Ave.

Another helpful thing I found, someone recorded their 2007 Ave marathon and posted it to Youtube.

Part One


Part Two


It was a fun trip. My wife spent lots and lots and lots of time together without kids, which we both needed. I got to drive the marathon route and know a little more about what I need to work on the next few weeks. It was a successful day.